


The Time Lord and his Dreamer

by Shadowhunter_Artemis



Series: Josie's Journey [2]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Dreams, F/M, Time Travel, doctor who - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2020-01-14
Packaged: 2020-01-31 21:28:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18599755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowhunter_Artemis/pseuds/Shadowhunter_Artemis
Summary: Love is in the air! But so is the threat of Torchwood. Will this organisation end the Doctor and Josie’s relationship? Or will they stick together…the Time Lord and his Dreamer?





	1. prologue

_For as long as I can remember I’ve had dreams about the Doctor. And they were always so amazing and sometimes down right scary. For years I wished…hoped and prayed that the Doctor would up and whisk me away in his magic box. But it never happened. I was never discouraged by it though…well…there was one time when I was ten where I’d almost given up hope._

_Then came a Scottish stranger. And he told me something that I will never forget._

_“Hope is like a light in the dark. It can keep you going through the worst of times. So you want to cling onto hope as tightly as you can”_

_And so I did. Until the Doctor showed up in my life 11 years later. We pretty much hit it off straight away. Even gave each other nicknames!_

~flashback~

“Wipe that stupid grin off your face”, Josie lightly ordered “smug is _not_ a good look on you…Spaceman”.

“Oi!” the Doctor protested.

“You are an alien, hence spaceman”, Josie shot back. The Doctor grumbled under his breath. The black haired girl could’ve sworn he called her ‘Earth Girl’. “Did you just call me ‘Earth Girl’?” she asked.

“Maybe”, the Doctor admitted.

“Oh, you…” Josie let go of the console go for the Doctor with the intention of…actually she had no idea what she was gonna do, she just wanted to get him.

~end~

_Then came the adventures which I was super hyped about having spent so long dreaming his past escapades. Some were fun. Like meeting Captain Jack Harkness. Boy was that man a massive flirt! He even tried it on with me until I put him straight. From then on he was like an annoying big brother._

A chuckle left Josie’s lips as she remembered all those little moments between herself and Jack. The bantering…the playful digs at each other… the way Jack always remarked that she was ‘one of a kind’. Sadness flickered across her face. She really missed the American man.

She took a breath to pull herself together and continued writing.

_Some of the adventures were also downright terrifying. I really thought seeing a Dalek in my dreams was bad enough but to see it in person was even worse! Thank god for the Doctor._

_The Doctor…_

Her pen stuttered on the page and tears pricked in her eyes. She fiercely blinked them away and forced herself to keep going.

_The Doctor…what can I say? He’s amazing…occasionally impossible and downright annoying at times. Oh, and a mad man. I honestly wouldn’t have him any other way._

_And I cannot forget that we’d fallen in love. Me and the Doctor! Who would’ve thought that would happen? Certainly not me._

Josie touched the latest Doctor’s portrait with a sad smile. She turned back to the page with the entry she was doing and picked up where she left off.

_Of course being human meant that I couldn’t stay with him forever. And you know, I was fine with that. Really I was. I…just never expected this to happen. I was expecting my tenure with the Doctor to come to a close with me going home, parting ways with him on good terms._

_Then came the Army of Ghosts._


	2. New New York part 1

Beth’s mouth dropped open when she stepped out of the TARDIS to see a futuristic city and several cars zooming through the sky. Josie beamed at her surroundings, eyes shining, she couldn’t wait to explore! “It's the year five billion and twenty three”, the Doctor said “We're in the galaxy M87, and this…this is New Earth”.

“That's just…that's…” Beth stuttered unable to form proper sentence as she was still in awe.

“Fantastic”, Josie said slinging her arm around her friend “not bad for your first trip eh?”

“Not bad at all”, Beth agreed.

“Hold on this is _New_ Earth”, Josie said “this is where they all came after the world ended?”

“This is just one of the many planets humans  colonised”, the Doctor told her.

“Wait, are you talking about that trip you took to see the end of the world?” Beth spoke up earning her a look of surprise from the Time Lord.

“Don’t look so surprised spaceman. Beth is my best friend. Of course I told her about the dreams”, Josie said.

“And for the record, I never thought you were making it up. Unlike some _him_ ”, Beth said, her voice taking on a bitter note at the end.

“Yeah…well…we aren’t going to talk about him”, Josie said and the purple haired woman nodded in agreement leaving the Doctor a little confused. Who was this ‘him’ they were talking about? “So Doctor where are we going to first?” Josie asked turning to the Time Lord.

“Well I thought we could take a stroll through the apple grass”, the Doctor replied.

“Apple grass?” Josie and Beth questioned in unison. The Doctor bent down and pulled up several blades of grass.

“Apple grass”, he said holding it out to them. The two women could detect a faint whiff of apple from the grass he was holding.

“Apple grass”, Josie repeated “the universe never stops surprising does it?”

“No, it doesn’t”, the Doctor agreed softly looking at Josie. A blush appeared on the blackette’s cheeks at the way he was looking at her. Beth just smiled. She had a feeling that they were going to be one of those couples where they have plenty of little ‘moments’ like that.

“So…um…walk through the apple grass?” Josie said trying to will the pink away from her cheeks.

“Yep”, the Doctor said popping the p. He held out his hand to the blackette who took it. They walked away, Beth following closely behind. None of them being aware of the little robot spider that was scuttling after them, as the owner’s interest was piqued by the two pure blood human females.

\----------

Beth laughed as she watched the Doctor chase Josie around the apple grass. The blackette shrieked as the Time Lord grabbed her. “Gotcha”, the Doctor whispered in her ear.

“Yes, you have”, Josie said shifting around in his grip so she could look up at him “so what now Doctor?”

“Well…Josie, I thought I’d do this”, the Doctor said and then he kissed her “my Earth Girl”, he murmured.

“My Spaceman”, Josie breathed. The Doctor moved back and shrugged off his coat, spreading it out on the grass. He laid down on it, pulling Josie down with him. Beth wandered over to the pair and sat down on the spare bit of coat.

“What’s the city called?” she asked nodding to the futuristic looking skyscrapers.

“New New York”, the Doctor replied.

“You’re kidding”, Beth said while Josie looked at him in surprise.

“It _is_ ”, the Doctor insisted “It's the city of New New York. Strictly speaking, it's the fifteenth New York since the original, so that makes it New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York…” the Time Lord trailed off when he finally noticed the way Josie was looking at him “What?”

“You're so different”, she remarked.

“New New Doctor”, the Time Lord countered.

“Yes you are”, Josie agreed resting her head on his chest.

The robotic spider creeped right up to the unsuspecting trio. “The black haired girl. She’s perfect”, Cassandra smirked from her hideaway in the basement of the New New York hospital.

 _“Can we go and visit New New York, so good they named it twice?”_ the purple haired woman asked.

The man sat up “Well, I thought we might go there first”, he said pointing at a building. Cassandra and her assistant Chip noted that he was pointing at the hospital. The Last Human’s smirk grew wider.

 _“Why, what is it?”_ Cassandra’s target questioned.

“ _Some sort of hospital. Green moon on the side. That's the universal symbol for hospitals_ ”, the man explained standing up, the two women getting to their feet as well.

“Chip is the psychograft fully functional?” Cassandra asked.

“It is mistress”, Chip replied.

“Good. Nothing can go wrong when the child arrives”, Cassandra said watching the trio hurry away through the robot spider’s feed. _Soon I will have a body again_ she thought, letting out a slight evil chuckle.

~Hospital reception~

“Bit rich coming from you”, Beth remarked to the Doctor “considering you’re called the _Doctor_ ”. The Time Lord had stated his unease the second they’d reached the hospital.

“I can't help it! I don't like hospitals…they give me the creeps!” the Doctor said with a shudder.

“You’re not the only one. Ever since that whole thing with the gasmasks and the nanogenes…” Josie also shuddered.

“Perhaps we should make this a quick visit then?” Beth suggested.

“Yeah we should”, Josie agreed.

_The Pleasure Gardens will now take visitors carrying green or blue identification cards for the next fifteen minutes. Visitors are reminded that cuttings from the gardens are not permitted._

“No shop. I like the little shop!” the Doctor remarked eyeing there surroundings as they walked.

“Is that going to be your obsession now?” Josie queried “little shops? I suppose it isn’t any stranger than your former obsession with jelly babies”.

“You know, I would’ve thought they’d have cured everything this far in the future”, Beth commented.

“The human race moves on, but so do the viruses. It's an ongoing war”, the Doctor told her. A cat nurse walks by, nodding politely to the three of them. The Doctor and Josie nodded back while Beth stared at her not having expected that.

“They're cats”, she whispered.

“Now, don't stare”, the Doctor mock scolded “Think what you look like to them…all pink and purple” he suddenly looked over hers and Josie’s shoulders “That's where I'd put the shop!” he pointed making the woman turn around “Right there!”

Taking advantage of the distraction, the Doctor walked over to the lift. By the time Josie and Beth realised he’d gone, the lift doors had started to close. They darted over but they were just a tad too slow. “Bugger”, Josie muttered.

“Theres another lift”, Beth said spying it “and it look like it only takes…one?” eyeing the plaque next to it with confusion.

“What kind of lift takes just one person at a time?” Josie questioned.

“I dunno but you should take it. I can wait”, Beth said.

“You sure? We can both fit, lift’s big enough for two”, Josie said nodding to it.

“Yeah I’m sure”, the purple haired woman assured her “Go keep an eye on your boyfriend. You know what kind of trouble he can get into”.

“True”, Josie said and stepped into the lift “see you at Ward 26”. The doors slid shut but the lift moved down, not up. Though she didn’t have a moment to dwell on it when the speaker announced

_Commence stage one disinfection._

A shower of liquid rained down, soaking the blackette. Having not expected it, she shrieked. Then came a large puff of white powder causing Josie to cough and splutter. _I really hate this_ she thought. Thankfully the next stage was getting blasted by a blow dryer. Josie ran her hands through her hair to prevent it from getting tangled.

The lift came to a stop and the doors slid open. Josie stepped out into a corridor and immediately she could tell she wasn’t in ward 26. Well…she kinda figured that she wasn’t going there considering the lift went down and not up.

A humanoid stepped out from around the corner. He…well she’s pretty sure it’s a him…looked rather like a walking doodle. “The human child is clean”, he said.

“I'm…looking for Ward 26?” Josie said, her tone unsure. A ploy to find out why she was brought to what she presumed was the basement.

“This way, Miss”, the humanoid and before scurrying off. Josie picked up a metal rod from the rubbish littered over the floor and followed after him.

She eventually emerged from the corridor into a room where an old film was playing.

“ _I mean, you never know what your life is going to be like, ever. I'm bored with this drink”_ , a pretty looking woman said. Josie’s eyes widened. She knew that voice! And that face…it couldn’t be! Slowly she turned around and her eyes widened even more when she saw none other than the Last Human, Cassandra.

“My you are much prettier in person”, Cassandra remarked.

“Um…thank you”, Josie said. _Play dumb_ she thought. Just like when she first met the Doctor, she can’t let Cassandra be aware that she knew all about her. Though she was itching to ask how on earth she survived. Going by what she saw in her dream, the skin trampoline had exploded from the heat. “I take it you’re the reason I’m down here and not with my friends”, Josie stated.

“I am”, Cassandra said “I need your help child”.

Josie resisted the urge to give her a cheeky or sassy retort that would’ve gotten her into trouble. Instead she suggested “how about we exchange introductions first? And then discuss it. I’m Josie Turner and you?”

“Lady Cassandra O'Brien Dot Delta Seventeen. The Last Human”, Cassandra said proudly. Again she resisted the urge to be herself by letting out a snort at Cassandra’s claim.

“And what about your friend?” Josie asked nodded to the walking doodle.

“Oh that's just Chip. He's my pet”, Cassandra said dismissively.

“I worship the mistress!” Chip piped up.

“Moisturise me, moisturise me…” Chip picked up a canister and squirts Cassandra with it “He's not even a proper life form. He's a force grown clone”, the ‘Last Human’ explained “I modelled him on my favourite pattern. But he's so faithful. Chip sees to my physical needs”.

“I hope that means food”, Josie muttered “but what do you mean by Last Human?” she questioned, still keeping up the pretence of not knowing anything “They've called this planet New Earth”.

“A vegetable patch”, Cassandra sneered.

“And there's millions of Humans out there…millions of them”, Josie continued.

“Mutant stock”, Cassandra spat.

“They evolved, Cassandra”, Josie retorted “They just evolved, like they should. YOU stayed still. You got yourself all pickled and preserved, and what good did it do you? All you’ve become is a skin trampoline”.

“You may be pretty Josie but you’re not exactly an epitome of perfection”, Cassandra countered.

“And you are?” Josie shot back.

“Yes I am”, Cassandra said giving her a haughty look. Or best as she could considering she was only a skin trampoline.

 _Deluded. Absolutely deluded_ Josie thought. “But I’ve not been idle, Josie, tucked away underneath this hospital. I've been listening. The Sisters are hiding something”, Cassandra told her.

“What do you mean?” Josie asked, her annoyance with Cassandra given way to curiosity.

“Oh…these cats have secrets”, Cassandra said cryptically “Hush, let me whisper Come close”.

“You must be joking if you think I'm coming anywhere near you”, Josie scoffed. She backed up several steps only to be caught in a machine that binds her in a light so she can’t move. Not that Josie didn’t try. All it did was make her drop the metal rod she’d picked up.

“Chip, activate the psychograft”, Cassandra ordered. 

“No!” Josie cried as Chip bounded over to the controls “Cassandra let me go right now!”

Chip pulled down and bars of light descend from the ceiling and surrounded the scared 21 year old. “Help! Somebody help me!” Josie screamed.

Cassandra didn’t even batter an eye lash at her screams. “The lady's moving on. It's goodbye trampoline, and black beauty!”

The last thing saw or heard before Josie passed out was a pink cloud of light coming towards her followed by a high pitched whirring.


	3. New New York part 2

“That psychograft is banned on every civilised planet”, a very familiar Scottish voice spoke as Josie slowly came to “You could've compressed her to death if I hadn't stopped you”.

“You shouldn't have been able to”, Cassandra said “the process was irreversible. It couldn't be stopped once it was started” Josie cracked open her eyes to see the Scottish stranger she'd met all those years ago standing in front of a frightened looking Cassandra. Chip was cowering behind her. “How did you do it?”

“I'm clever”, the Scottish man said simply. Josie pushed herself into a sitting position, rubbing her head as it was throbbing. As if the man knew she was awake, he turned and smiled at her. Josie watched him approach and crouch down so that they were at eye level. “Hello little dreamer”, he said gently.

“It’s you”, Josie breathed “you’re here”.

 “I’m here”, the 12th Doctor confirmed “are you ok?”

“I-I think so”, Josie replied “but head spinning”. She made a circular motion with her finger by her head.

“Come on, lets get you out of here”, the 12th Doctor said holding his hands out. Josie took them and he helped her up, steadying her when she wobbled. He then led her out of the room.

“What about them?” Josie asked nodding to Cassandra and Chip.

“They’re not going anywhere”, the 12th Doctor replied and ushered her away from the room.

“Thank you for saving me”, Josie said as they walked, the Time Lord keeping an arm around her to ensure that she stayed upright.

“You’re welcome”, he said.

“One thing I don’t understand, why do you do it?” Josie questioned stopping, making the Doctor stop too “You showed up when I was a child and gave hope when I had none. You left a note which helped with the Slitheen and gave me something to get back to the Doctor. You told Mickey that he could find us in Cardiff. You also told Beth that I’d be home for Christmas. Now you just save my life. Not that I’m not grateful, I really am. God knows what would’ve happened if you hadn’t shown up. I just…don’t understand why you’d involve yourself in my life. I’m not special and I’m not important. I’m just a girl who has sometimes has strange dreams centred around the Doctor”.  

“Oh, little dreamer”, the Doctor sighed “You _are_ special. You _are_ important. That why I involve myself, as you put it. And that’s I will always look out for you”.

Josie smiled, touched by his words. She hugged him “thank you”, she said. The Doctor put his arms around her, hugging her back. Strictly speaking he wasn’t a hugging person anymore. Well…he wasn’t a hugging person to anyone that wasn’t his Earth Girl.

“You’re welcome Josie” he stepped back “now we better go you back to the Doctor, before the authorities show up”.

Josie frowned “why would the authorities show up?” she asked.

“Because the feline staff have been using lab grown humans, infecting them with all sorts of diseases so that they could find the cures for them”, the Doctor explained.

A shocked look flickered across Josie’s face “that’s awful!” she exclaimed.

“Well they wont be used as test subjects ever again. Before finding you I took a detour through intensive care and cured them of everything they’d been infected with”, the Doctor told her.

“That’s very impressive um…” the blackette frowned again when she realised that she didn’t even know the stranger’s name “what is your name? in my mind I’ve always called you ‘the Scottish Stranger’”.

“Its not the worst thing I’ve been called”, the Doctor remarked “plus its very apt”.

“So…what is your name?” Josie asked.

“John”, the Doctor answered.

“John”, Josie repeated “let my guess…last name is Smith”.

“That’s a very good guess”, the Doctor said.

“So you’re not going to tell me then”, Josie said, disappointed.

“I will tell you”, the Doctor promised “at a later date”.

“I’m holding you to that”, Josie said with a smile and the Doctor returned it.  

\---------------

By the time they reached ward 26, the police were arresting the staff that were working in the ward. Josie spotted the Doctor and Beth hanging back, watching what was happening. Not even needing any encouragement from the older Doctor, the blackette made her way over to them. “Doctor, Beth”, Josie called, gaining their attention.

The Doctor was the first one to get to her, giving her a massive hug. “You hurt?” he asked moving back an arms-length checking her over for injuries.

“No”, Josie answered.

“What happened?” the Doctor questioned “we’ve been waiting for you for ages. I tried to get you on the phone but you didn’t answer”.

“We were getting really worried about you”, Beth added.

“I got side tracked with an old friend of yours. Lady Cassandra”, Josie told the Doctor.

“Josie, she’s dead”, the Time Lord said.

Josie shook her head “nope. Cassandra is very much alive”, she said “and she tried to use this machine thing on me. A psychograft”.

The Doctor’s features darkened at her words “she’s dead”, he growled. He started off toward the lift when Josie stopped him.

“Don’t”, she said “Cassandra will get what she deserves. She’s going to be arrested too and with what she did on Platform One, she’ll be in prison for a long time or whatever the form of punishment is on New Earth for what she’s done”. The Doctor from her to the lift and back and nodded once. He wasn’t happy about it, she deserved more than a prison sentence for trying to harm his Earth Girl. But since Josie didn’t want him to do anything, he wouldn’t.

“So how did you manage to escape?” Beth asked.

“That was my guardian angel”, Josie answered. With confused looks from both the Doctor and Beth, she elaborated “tall with grey hair and really bushy eye brows? Speaks with a Scottish accent?”

The purple haired girl shook her head “he really seems to get around that guy”, she remarked.

“Well, I for one would like to shake the man’s hand for saving”, the Doctor said, his earlier anger seeming to have gone.

“You can. He’s just over there”, Josie turned toward the direction of the lifts and was surprised to see that ‘John’ was no longer there. She did a 360, trying to spot him amongst the police, staff and patients. But he was gone. “He’s not here anymore”, she stated, her shoulders slumping a little in disappointment. She had hoped that she would be able to at the very least introduce him to the Doctor.

“Never mind, I’ll thank him the next time he shows up”, the Doctor said.

“Do you guys mind if we go back to the TARDIS now?” Josie asked “I’m a little tired”.

“Sure”, the Doctor said wrapping an arm around her waist and leading her off, Beth following.

“So who was it that send you that message?” Josie questioned.

“Oh, that? It was the Face of Boe”, the Doctor answered “apparently he had some secret he wanted to impart with the next time we meet”.

“Hopefully I can meet him next time”, Josie said “he seemed nice enough in the dream. For a giant head in a jar”.


	4. The monarch and the big bad wolf part 1

 

Josie bounced into the console room wearing what she thought was appropriate attire for the late 70’s. “Whatcha think?” she asked the Doctor giving a little twirl.

The Time Lord took in her outfit, noting how the stripe on her maroon coloured top was fairly similar to his scarf that he wore way back as his 4th self. “I like it”, he replied and the blackette smiled.

“Thanks”, Josie said pleased he didn’t tell her it wasn’t suitable for 1979 “you know, I was wondering could we possibly get Ian’s autograph for Beth? I think she’d like that”. Her purple haired friend sadly couldn’t join them on their next trip as she wanted to head home to sort out bits and pieces with her house so that she wouldn’t have to worry about bills or potentially losing the two storey place itself while travelling through time and space. Josie thought that was pretty sensible. She should probably do something like that herself. Maybe rent the place out? Hm….

“We can definitely do that”, the Doctor said “if you like, we can always take her to meet him”.

“Really?” Josie asked.

“Absolutely”, the Doctor confirmed earning him a delighted hug and a kiss from the blackette.

“I love you”, she declared.

“I love you too”, the Doctor dropping a kiss onto her head “now how about the concert then?”

Josie glanced up at him “allonsy”, she declared. The Time Lord grinned at her and then moved over to the console, Josie joining him. She held onto the console tightly as the Doctor piloted it through the time vortex.

Eventually the ship juddered to a halt, throwing the pair to the floor. Though the Doctor had managed to grab Josie, pulling her on top of him so that only he landed on the grilled floor. “You ok?” he asked.

“Yeah I’m fine”, Josie replied “you?”

“I’m ok”, the Doctor answered. Josie moved off the Doctor, allowing him to get up. She held out her hand and he took it, intertwining their fingers.

“Come on, 1979 awaits”, Josie said and they walked down the ramp toward the door. With his free hand, the Doctor pulled open one of the doors and they stepped out, only to find themselves surrounded by Scottish soldiers.

“Make that 1879”, the Doctor muttered letting go of Josie’s hand to raise his.

“Only you could take us to the wrong place AND 100 years too early”, Josie grumbled raising her hands also.

“You will explain your presence. And the nakedness of this girl”, Captain Reynolds ordered from where he sat on his black horse. Josie glanced down at her skirt. It wasn’t as short as some of the ones that she’d found in the wardrobe but it did show her legs from the knees down. Which in this time period would be considered ‘nakedness’ as women were supposed to be more of less covered up.

“Are we in Scotland?” The Doctor asked in a Scottish accent.

“How can you be ignorant of that?” Captain Reynolds asked.

“Oh, I'm…dazed and confused”, the Doctor confessed “this lovely lass has been giving me quite a bit of a run about all over the hills”.

“Aye and it was pretty fun too”, Josie added sticking to a British accent. She would’ve tried to sound Scottish but was worried that it might come out sounding terrible, so she didn’t. Though she couldn’t help think how ‘John’ would fit in rather well with these people given that he was a fellow Scotsman. _Wonder were he is?_ She thought to herself.

“Will you identify yourself, sir?” Captain Reynolds demanded.

“I'm Doctor James McCrimmon. From the…Township of Balamory” Josie cast him a rather amused look at the name he’d picked for the town “Eh…I have my credentials, if I may…” he gestured to his pockets and the Captain nods. He and Josie lowered their hands, the former searching his pockets for his psychic paper. As soon as he found it, he took it out and showed it to the Scotsman on the horse. “As you can see, a Doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. I trained under Doctor Bell himself”, the Doctor explained.

“Let them approach”, a posh female’s voice spoke up from the carriage.

“I don't think that's wise, ma'am”, Captain Reynolds warned.

“Let them approach”, the woman repeated.

“You will approach the carriage, and show all due deference”, Captain Reynolds told them. The Doctor and Josie walked up to the carriage where a footman opened the door to reveal Queen Victoria. There was also another woman, a little younger than Josie, sitting opposite the monarch.

“Josie, might I introduce her Majesty Queen Victoria. Empress of India and Defender of the Faith”, the Doctor said.

The blackette bobbed a curtesy “Josie Turner, ma’am”, she said politely “forgive my nakedness”.

“I've had five daughters. It's nothing to me”, Victoria said waving her apology off “But you, Doctor. Show me these credentials”. The Doctor gave the queen the psychic paper and she only briefly glanced at it before looking up at the Time Lord with a little surprise on her face “Why didn't you say so immediately? It states clearly here that you have been appointed by the Lord Provost as my Protector”.

“Does it?” the Doctor asked a bit surprised by that but he quickly masked it “Good. Good. Then let me ask…why is Your Majesty travelling by road when there's a train all the way to Aberdeen?”  

“A tree on the line”, Victoria replied holding out the psychic paper which the Doctor took and pocketed it.

“An accident?” the Doctor asked.

“Her Majesty is the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland”, the young woman opposite the queen said, in an Irish accent “Everything around her tends to be planned”.

“Mary is quite correct”, Victoria said.

“Sir Robert MacLeish lives but ten miles hence”, Captain Reynolds spoke up “We've sent word ahead. He'll shelter us for tonight, then we can reach Balmoral tomorrow”.

“This Doctor and his…lovely lass will come with us”, Victoria proclaimed and Captain Reynolds nodded.

“Yes, Ma'am. We'd better get moving it's almost nightfall”, he said.

“Indeed”, Victoria agreed “And there are stories of wolves in these parts. Fanciful tales intended to scare the children. But good for the blood, I think. Drive on!”

The footman closed the door, hopping onto the back as the carriage started off. The Doctor and Josie walked behind along with the soldiers. The blackette wacked the Time Lord across the back of the head. “Ow!” he exclaimed “what was that for?”

“For bringing us to the wrong place and a century too early”, Josie replied.

“It’s not my fault, it’s the TARDIS’”, the Doctor protested.

“Uh…don’t blame the ship. One: you picked her and two: you’re a shoddy pilot”, Josie retorted.

“So I overshot this one time, its not that bad”, the Doctor argued.

“I’m getting a sense of déjà vu here. Didn’t we have this conversation already?” the blackette asked.   

The Doctor shook his head “no, I don’t think we did”, he said even though he knew they had.

“Well, then let me refresh your memory. Cardiff instead of Naples. 2006 rather than 2005” a smile appeared on the Doctor’s face “And now here, a full 100 years too early…” Josie trailed off when she noticed the way he was looking at her “what?”

 “Nothing”, the Doctor said. It was just the dynamic they seem to have…it was nice and rather refreshing to have someone whom he could banter with and who can sometimes put him in his place, not that he’d admit to it. He honestly couldn’t ask for a better travelling companion or girlfriend. He thanked his ship for bringing the blackette to his attention.

~Courtyard~

As soon as they reached Robert’s home, a footman opened the door to Queen Victoria’s carriage and helped her out. Mary, the monarch’s handmaiden stepped out also. Sir Robert comes out of his home followed by a bald man dressed as a butler.

“Your Majesty”, Sir Robert greeted, bowing.

“Sir Robert. My apologies for the emergency. And how is Lady Isobel?” Victoria enquired.

“She's indisposed, I'm afraid”, Sir Robert replied “She's gone to Edinburgh for the season. And she's taken the cook with her. The kitchens are barely stocked. I wouldn't blame Your Majesty if you wanted to ride on”.

“Oh, not at all”, Victoria said “I've had quite enough carriage exercise. And this is charming, if rustic. It's my first visit to this house. My late husband spoke of it often. The Torchwood Estate. Now, shall we go inside?” Sir Robert reluctantly nods and he, the queen and her handmaiden started toward the main doors “And please excuse the naked girl”, the monarch added.

“Is it just me or does he not want the queen to stay here?” Josie murmured quietly to the Doctor. As the trio disappeared inside the stately home.

“It’s not just you”, he said, equally quietly “question is: why?”

**AN: the Queen’s handmaiden, Mary belongs to unofficialargent from Wattpad.**


	5. The monarch and the big bad wolf part 2

 

“Wow that is some telescope”, Josie said, rather in awe of the large bronze device situated in the middle of the Observatory.

“It’s the famous Endeavour”, Victoria told her.

“All my father's work. Built by hand in his final years. Became something of an obsession…he spent his money on this rather than caring for the house or himself”, Robert told the group.

The Doctor smiled “I wish I'd met him. I like him”, he remarked “That thing's beautiful. Can I um…?” he gestured toward the telescope.

“Help yourself”, Robert said. The Time Lord and Josie moved forward to take a closer look at the telescope and the wheel next to it.

“What did he model it on?” the Doctor asked.

Robert shrugged “I know nothing about it”, he admitted “To be honest, most of us thought him a little, shall we say…eccentric”.

“There’s nothing wrong with that Sir Robert”, Josie said, glancing back at him “those kind of people have a unique perspective of the world around them. That also goes for the universe”.

Robert nodded, understanding her words. He sighed “I wish now I'd spent more time with him and listened to his stories”, he confessed.

“You know, this is a bit rubbish”, the Doctor remarked peering through the telescope “How many prisms has it got? Way too many. The magnification's gone right over the top. That's stupid kind of…” he back off when he realised that he was coming across a bit rude “Am I being rude again?” he asked Josie quietly.

“Just a bit”,  the blackette confirmed.

“But it's pretty. It's very pretty”, the Doctor said quickly, trying to cover up the fact that he’d just been rude.

“And the imagination of it should be applauded”, Victoria added.

“I wholeheartedly agree, Your Majesty”, Mary agreed.

“Sir Robert's father was an example to us all”, the Monarch continued “A polymath, steeped in astronomy and sciences, yet equally well versed in folklore and fairytales”.

“Stars and magic”, Josie murmured “Reminds me of a certain traveller”. She threw a wink at the Time Lord and he grinned.

“Oh, my late husband enjoyed his company”, Victoria sighed as she reminisced “Prince Albert himself was acquainted with many rural superstitions, coming as he did from Saxe Coburg”.

“That's Bavaria”, the Doctor informed Josie and she nodded.

The Queen turned to Robert “When Albert was told about your local wolf, he was transported”, she told him.

“You mentioned the wolf before ma’am. I’d be really interested to learn more about it”, Josie spoke up.

“There’s not much to tell miss. Its just a silly story, designed to scare children”, Robert said, dismissively.

“Every story has a little truth to them. Same goes for myths and legends”, Josie smoothly countered.

“Wise words from someone so young”, Victoria remarked “Shame about you clothing choices” she turned to Robert again as Josie glanced down at her skirt once more, regretting the things she’d decided to wear “Sir Robert, your wife must have left some clothes. See to it that Miss Turner gets something a little more appropriate. We shall dine at seven, and talk some more of this wolf. After all, there is a full moon tonight”.

“So there is, Ma'am”, Robert agreed.

“May I assist Miss Turner, ma’am?” Mary requested “so that she would be at dinner on time and appropriately attired”.

“Excellent suggestion, Mary”, Victoria agreed “see to it that you find something sensible”. Mary inclined her head at the monarch, indicating that she understood.

“Miss Turner, if you’ll come with me please?” the Irish woman asked holding out her hand.

“Go on, I’ll see you at dinner”, the Doctor said to Josie when she looked at him.

“Ok, I’ll see you there”, Josie said before she headed over to where Mary stood, taking her hand. The Irish woman led her out of the room.

~Bedroom~

“Before we get to the clothes hunting, I think we need to have a talk”, Mary said the second the door to the bedroom was closed.

“What about?” Josie asked.

“About you and your friend, John”, Mary replied “see, I know what you two are. Your both time travellers”.

“Time travellers?” Josie repeated “come on, Mary that’s ridiculous. There’s no such thing”.

“You don’t need to lie, Josie. I know that’s what you are because I’m one too”, Mary said “My real name is Athena X, I’m an Alparian”.

The blackette shook her head “of course you’re an alien”, she muttered “Why wouldn’t you be? Just because you look human doesn’t necessarily be one. After all the Doctor looks human too and he’s a Time Lord…”

“Wait did you just say Time Lord?” Mary asked, staring at her in surprise.

“Yeah…you know about his people?” Josie questioned.

“There was a mention in the archives on my home planet. All I know is that there was this really big war and neither side won”, Mary said “I never imagined that there would be any survivors”.

“Only one. The Doctor. He’s the last of his people”, Josie told her.

“But how did he survive?” Mary queried.

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you that. Its not my story to tell”, Josie said. Mary nodded in understanding. She could tell by the little shift in the blackette’s emotions that the subject was hard to talk about. the 21 year old cleared her throat “so, you’re an alien”, she stated “you got any gifts…or abilities?”

 _“Yes, I do”_ Mary’s voice spoke in her head making Josie jump.

“Holy…you’re telepathic? That’s so cool!” the blackette said excitedly “what else can you do?” she asked eagerly.

“Well, there’s one other thing” Josie watched as Mary morphed into a mirror image of herself. In a blink of an eye, the brunette was back to herself.

“That’s incredible”, Josie breathed.

Mary smiled, glad that she was taking this so well “thanks”, she said “what about you Josie? You got any gifts?”

“I’ve got this one thing. I have dreams about the Doctor and they come true”, Josie replied.

“You’re some kind of psychic?” Mary asked.

“Of a sort. And before you ask, no I don’t remember when it started or why my dreams are only about the Doctor and his adventures”, Josie said “we’re still trying to figure that out”.

“I’m sure you both will figure it out soon”, Mary assured her, sensing how disheartened the young woman was.

“Yeah…probably”, Josie agreed “anyway I should start looking for a suitable dress for dinner”.

“That’s a good idea, don’t want you to be late”, Mary said and walked over to one of the wardrobes. She opened the doors, riffled through the clothes, pulling out a brown dress.

“No”, Josie said.

“Ok”, Mary said putting it back. She took out a few more dresses, Josie declining each one.

“God no!” Josie said when Mary brought out a frilly blouse “I’d rather wear a bin bag”.

“So that’s a big no on the blouse then”, the Irish woman said hanging the offending garment back up “well, that’s everything in this wardrobe. We’ll have to try the other one”.

“But if I don’t find anything, then I’m going as I am”, Josie said walking over to the second wardrobe. She pulled open and let out a small scream upon seeing a frightened young woman cowering inside. Mary quickly joined her.

“Its alright”, she said gently to the maid, sensing how scared she was “we’re not going to hurt you”. Mary held out a hand to her and she tentatively took it. The Irish woman led her over to the bed and sat her down on it.

“What happened? Why were you hiding?” Josie asked her.

The maid explained as best as she could the reasons as to why she was in the wardrobe and why she was so frightened. The blackette took her hand. “It’s going to be ok”, Josie assured her “I have this friend and he’s really good with situations like yours. But you’re going to have to come with me and explain it to him”.

“Oh, but I can't, miss”, the maid protested.

“What's your name?” Josie asked.

“Flora”, the maid replied.

“We’ll be perfectly safe Flora, I promise”, Josie vowed “the Doctor will look after us”.

“And I’ll look after you two while we’re looking for him”, Mary added. Flora looked from one female to the other before she agreed. Josie hopped up from the bed, taking Flora with her. Mary headed to the door first, opening it and peering out. When she saw that the coast was clear, she left the room, closely followed Josie and Flora.

The trio walked down the hall and when they rounded a corner they found a soldier lying on the floor, unconscious. “Oh, miss. I did warn you!” Flora cried.

Mary moved forward to check the man’s pulse “he isn’t dead, just unconscious”, she reported. Suddenly two disguised monks crept up and grabbed Flora and Josie. They pressed their hands over the females mouths to stop them from screaming as they dragged them away. The butler came up behind Mary, clocking her around the back of the head before she had a chance to defend herself. She too was taken away by another disguised monk. A fourth removed the unconscious soldier and the butler continued on his way to the dining room, completely composed as if he hadn’t just attacked the Queen’s handmaiden.


	6. The monarch and the big bad wolf part 3

 

Josie was not a happy bunny at all. She was currently held prisoner in the cellar of Sir Robert’s home with Flora, Mary and several other people. These were the household staff that Flora had mentioned. The blackette assumed that the smartly dressed man was the steward while the prim and proper female had to be the lady of the house. Josie then turned her gaze to the large cage situated across from them and the prisoner inside.

“Why’s that prisoner separate from us?” she asked quietly.

“He’s no prisoner”, Isobel told her, matching the 21 year old’s hushed tone.

“But he's in a cage. He's _is_ a prisoner, the same as us”, Mary spoke up.

Isobel shook her head “He's nothing like us. That creature is not mortal”, she said and with those words, the young man opens his eyes. They are completely black. Isobel and her staff whimper in fright. Mary on the other hand was rather wary of him. Josie glanced at the frightened face of Isobel and then back at the black eyed young man.

She couldn’t be scared. She couldn’t afford to be. She, Josie Turner had to be strong for them. Time to see if those dreams and her travels with the Doctor will help her channel the Time Lord. Slowly Josie stood up.

“Don't, child”, Isobel warned as the blackette inched toward the young man. Josie just ignored her and carried on approaching the caged prisoner. When the chain she was attached to wouldn’t go any further, she crouched down.

Josie studied his face carefully while she decided what to ask him, all the while baring in mind of what the Doctor would do. “You're not from Earth, are you?” she asked “So where are you from, hm? What planet?”

“Oh, intelligence”, the young man remarked.

“Thanks, now back to you. Where were you born?”  Josie questioned.

“This body…ten miles away…a weakling, heartsick boy, stolen away at night by the brethren for my cultivation. I carved out his soul and sat in his heart”, the young man explained.

“All right, so the body's human. But what about you, the thing inside?” the blackette queried.

“So far from home”, the prisoner told her.

“If you want to go home, I have a friend who can help”, Josie told him.

He laughed “Why would I leave this place? A world of industry, of workforce and warfare. I could turn it to such purpose”

“And pray tell how would you accomplish that?” Josie asked.

“I would migrate to the Holy Monarch. With one bite, I would pass into her blood, and then it begins. The Empire of the Wolf”, the young man said.

Josie’s eyes widened a little “you’re a some form werewolf”, she breathed.

“Correct little girl”, the werewolf said before lunging at the bars making everyone, including Josie, jump “You’ve seen the Wolf too, haven’t you?”

“No, I haven’t”, Josie said, trying to ignore her pounding heart.

“Liar. You _have_ seen the Wolf. And you burnt like the sun”, the werewolf told her. Josie’s breathing quickened. How did he know about her taking in the heart of the TARDIS? And about Bad Wolf? “But all I require is the moon”

Suddenly the doors of the cellar was flung open, flooding moonlight over the werewolf’s cage. “Moonlight”, he said, pressing his face against the bars with a blissful smile. Josie backed up when an unnatural wind blew through the cellar and the werewolf shrugged off his cloak.

“We need to get out of here”, Mary stated making Josie turn to her, brows raised.

“Ya think?” the blackette asked sassily, unable to help herself “sorry, force of habit”, she admitted upon earning her a look from the Irish woman/Alparian “she’s right we do need to get out of here”, she said to the others “but we’re going to need to get free of this chain first. So grab it and pull as hard as you can”.

Isobel and the others exchanged worried glances, murmuring amongst themselves. “You heard her, grab the chain and pull!” Mary ordered. Everyone did as she said, Josie grasping onto the metal links tightly.

“On 3. 1…2…3…pull!” the blackette said and they all pulled as hard as they could. Behind the group, the werewolf was slowly transforming into his animal form. “1…2…3…pull!” Josie repeated and they all yanked harder.

“Its working”, Mary reported when the chain started to come away from the wall “keep going everyone!”

Eventually it broke free causing several of them to stumble back. Then the cellar door was kicked in, revealing the Doctor. “You like to make an entrance dontcha?” Josie teased but the Time Lord seemed to be distracted by the fully transformed werewolf.

“Oh, that's beautiful”, he breathed.

“Uh, hello?! Prisoners here!” Josie said holding up her manacled wrists.

“Right”, the Doctor said realising the severity of the situation. He and Robert hastily ushered Josie, Mary and the others out as the werewolf proceeded to break the bars of his cage to free himself. The Doctor slammed the door shut a split second before the werewolf, now free of its prison, threw the top of the cage. It made a loud clang as it struck the door. The Time Lord quickly flashed his sonic over the lock and it clicked shut.

Josie reached up and smacked the Doctor across the back of the head. “Ow!” he cried “what was that for?”

“For gawking at the werewolf and calling it beautiful”, Josie replied snippily.

“Sorry”, the Doctor mumbled and freed her from the manacles around her wrists. He and his earth girl then retreated into the gun room with the others. The Time Lord quickly got to work freeing everyone else that had been cuffed before going back to the blackette and checking her over for injuries. “Are you hurt?” he asked.

Josie shook her head “No”, she answered.

“Good. That’s good”, the Doctor said “And did the wolf say what it wanted?”

“It wanted to infect Queen Victoria and begin the Empire of the Wolf”, Josie said seriously.

The Doctor opened his mouth to say something when there was a loud crash. He stepped out of the room to investigate, only to discover the werewolf standing at the other end of the passageway. The two stared at one another for a moment before the wolf growled and started toward him. The Doctor ducked back into the room, grabbing Josie and Mary who’d decided to stay behind instead of going with Lady Isobel and the maids to the kitchen in order to escape, and pulled them both behind the line of men.

“Fire!” the Steward shouted when the werewolf appeared in the doorway. Josie, flinched and grabbed the Doctor’s arm when they shot at the creature. The werewolf stumbled back a few steps. “Fire!” the Steward ordered again.

This second volley of shots causing the room to the filled up with smoke. When it finally cleared the werewolf was no longer there. “All right, you men. We should retreat upstairs”, the Doctor suggested “Come with me”.

The Steward shook his head “I'll not retreat”, his said firmly  The battle's done. There's no creature on God's Earth that could survive such an assault”.

“I'm telling you, come upstairs!” the Doctor shot back, angrily.

“And I'm telling you, sir, I will sleep well tonight with that thing's hide upon my wall”, the Steward insisted. He stepped out into the corridor to look for it and turned back, with a triumphant expression on his face. “It must have crawled away to die”, he declared with a smirk. But the second he said those words, he was pulled through the ceiling. Josie pressed her hands over her ears trying in vain to block out the sounds of him being devoured.

The Doctor took her by the shoulders and herded her from the room, Mary quickly following after them. “Your Majesty? Your Majesty!” Robert called as they entered another room.

The monarch appeared on the stairs “Sir Robert? What's happening?” she asked, quickly descending the stairs. The Doctor left Josie’s side to check the front door. “I heard such terrible noises”, Victoria continued.

“You don’t want to know, ma’am”, Mary said “trust me”.

“Your Majesty, we've got to get out. But what of Father Angelo? Is he still here?” Robert questioned.  

“Captain Reynolds disposed of him”, Victoria replied.

“The front door's no good, it's been boarded shut”, the Doctor reported, rushing back into the room “Pardon me, Your Majesty. You'll have to leg it out of a window”. He gestures through a door and the Queen obliges with her head held high.

“Excuse my manners, Ma'am, but I shall go first, the better to assist Her Majesty's egress”, Robert suggested as they stopped by a window.

“A noble sentiment, my Sir Walter Raleigh”, Victoria remarked.

“Yeah, any chance you could hurry up?” the Doctor asked, accidently slipping back into his normal accent. Robert clambered onto the window sill but was forced to quickly hop off as he was shot at by the monks outside.

“I reckon the monkey boys want us to stay inside”, the Doctor stated, staring out of the window, eyes wide. Josie bit the inside of her cheek to avoid coming out with another sarcastic remark.

“Do they know who I am??” Victoria demanded, voice rising.

“They do ma’am. And that’s why they don’t want us to leave”, Mary spoke up “the wolf wants to…bite you”.

“Now, stop this talk”, Victoria told her handmaiden sternly “There can't be an actual wolf”. No sooner had the words left her mouth than a howl rings through the house. The group hurried out of the room to see one of the doors being repeatedly battered.

“Time for the running?” Josie asked.

“Time for the running”, the Doctor agreed. He turned to the Queen “Your Majesty, as a Doctor, I recommend a vigourous jog” he jogged on the spot to demonstrate “Good for the health. Come on!”

The Time Lord grabbed Victoria’s hand and led her up the nearby staircase. He, the monarch, Josie, Robert and Mary pelted up the stairs as fast as they could. “Come on! Come on!” the Doctor urged upon hearing the wolf bound up the stairs behind them. The moment the 5 of them hit the landing, they carried on running, not even slowing down.

The werewolf was nearly upon them when Captain Reynolds suddenly appeared and shot the wolf. It reels backwards down the corridor. “I'll take this position and hold it”, Reynolds said “You keep moving, for God's sake! Your Majesty, I went to look for the property and it was taken. The chest was empty”.

“I have it. It's safe”, Victoria assured him.

“Then remove yourself, Ma'am” Reynolds turned to the Time Lord “Doctor, you stand as Her Majesty's Protector. And you, Sir Robert, you're a traitor to the crown”. The man cocked his gun.

“Bullets wont stop that thing!” Josie exclaimed.

“They'll buy you time”, Reynolds countered “Now run!”

He moved to position himself at the end of the corridor, gun at the ready. The 5 of them ran along the corridor, heading into the library. Josie stops outside the door, looking back at Captain Reynolds. She watched the wolf bound toward him, the shots from the man’s gun doing nothing to slow it down. The blackette’s eyes pricked with tears as the creature pounced on Reynolds and proceeded to rip him apart. She should move, go into the library and close the door but she couldn’t. She was quite literally frozen in horror at the sight before her.

Thankfully the Doctor had noticed that she hadn’t come in. He darted outside, grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into the room. He slammed the door shut and then he, Robert and Mary barricaded it with bits of wood and several chairs.

The Doctor hopped up onto one of the chairs and pressed his ear against the door. On the other side the wolf sniffed the wood and growls before it leaves. “It's gone”, the Doctor reported.

“Listen…” Mary said in a hushed tone, her ears having picked up the wolf padding around the outside of the room. The Doctor climbed quietly down from the chair. Josie wrapped her arms around herself, pressing her lips together to suppress her sobs as tears ran down her face.

“Is this the only door?” the Doctor asked in a whisper.

Robert looked at him “No, its not”, he replied. He and the Doctor hurriedly blocked off the other door.

“I don't understand. What's stopping it?” Mary asked.

“Something inside this room”, the Doctor replied. He started to look around but when his gaze landed on his girl, he saw that she was silently crying. He stepped toward her and put his arms around the blackette.

“This is such a nightmare”, Josie sniffled.

“I know”, the Doctor said gently “but we’ll get through this, I promise”.


	7. The monarch and the big bad wolf part 4

**“** I'm sorry, Ma'am”, Robert spoke up quietly “It's all my fault. I should have sent you away. I tried to suggest something was wrong. I…thought you might notice. Did you think there was nothing strange about my household staff?”

“Well, they were bald, athletic…your wife's away, I just thought you were happy”, the Doctor said earning him another slap upside the head from Josie.

“What, exactly, I pray tell me, someone, please. What exactly is that creature?” Victoria demanded.

“It’s a werewolf”, Josie mumbled wiping away the last traces of tears from her face.

“Technically it's a more of a lupine wavelength haemovariform”, the Doctor corrected.

“And should I trust you, sir?” the monarch asked “You who change your voice so easily? What happened to your accent?”

“Oh…right, sorry…” the Time Lord said, finally realising that he was no longer speaking with a Scottish accent.

“I'll _not_ have it”, Victoria said firmly “No, sir. Not you…not that thing…none of it. This is not my world”.

“What I don’t understand is, why did that thing leave? Why didn’t it just batter down the door?” Mary questioned “its only made of wood”.

“That’s a very good question”, the Doctor said and moved over to the door. He touched the woodwork, noting a particular carving on it. It was mistletoe.

“Mistletoe”,  the Time Lord murmured “Sir Robert, did you father put that there?” he asked.

Robert shrugged “I don't know. I suppose”, he replied.

“On the other door, too. No, a carving wouldn't be enough. I wonder…” they all watch as the Doctor licked the wood “Viscum album, the oil of the mistletoe. It's been worked into the wood like a varnish. How clever was your dad? I love him! Powerful stuff, mistletoe. Bursting with lectins and viscotoxins”, he explained.

“And somehow that’s keeping the wolf out”, Josie stated.

“Well, those monks need a way to control it. Having it trained to react to certain things like mistletoe is a good way”, the Doctor said.

“Nevertheless, that creature won't give up, Doctor, and we still don't possess an actual weapon”, Robert pointed out.

“Actually, we do”, Josie said “books”. They were in a library chockful of books and at least one of them had to be of use in their current situation.

“I fail to see how books will protect us against that creature”, Robert told her.

“Then you’re a little narrowminded, aren’t you?” Josie commented. The Doctor grinned at the tone in her voice. That was his Earth Girl. Full of sass. The blackette strode over to the bookshelves and pulled out a book at random “books are the best weapons in the world. They give you knowledge. And knowledge is power”.

“She’s right. It is”, the Doctor agreed “time to arm ourselves”.

Several minutes later saw the Doctor, Josie, Mary and Robert flicking through various volumes. “Here’s something”, the Time Lord said hopping off of the ladder, book in hand “Look what your old dad found. Something fell to Earth”. He set the book onto the table and the others gathered around it, except Victoria who was sitting patiently in a chair.

“Looks like a shooting star”, Josie remarked as she studied the image on the open page.

“’In the year of our Lord 1540, under the reign of King James the Fifth, an almighty fire did burn in the pit’”, Robert read aloud “That's the Glen of Saint Catherine just by the monastery”.

Mary frowned “1540”, she repeated “that's over three hundred years ago. What's it been waiting for?”

“Maybe just a single cell survived”, the Doctor surmised “Adapting slowly down the generations, it survived through the humans, host after host after host”.

“But why does it want the throne?” Robert asked.

“Because it wants to create the ‘Empire of the Wolf’”, Josie answered.

“Imagine it…the Victorian Age accelerated…starships and missiles fueled by coal and driven by steam…leaving history devastated in its wake…” the Doctor said, his voice taking on a serious tone.

Victoria stood up abruptly “Sir Robert. If I am to die here….” She started when Robert cut in with

“Don't say that, Your Majesty”

“I would destroy myself rather than let that creature infect me. But that's no matter. I ask only that you find some place of safekeeping for something far older and more precious than myself”, Victoria declared and opened up her small bag.

“I hardly think this is the time to worry about your valuables”, the Doctor commented, having looked up at that exact moment.

“Thank you for your opinion”, the monarch said “but there is nothing more valuable than this”. The group watched as she took out a beautiful white diamond. Josie’s eyes widened as she recognised it from one of the history books she’d perused during her break at the bookstore.

“Is that the Koh-I-Noor?” the blackette asked.

“Oh, yes…the greatest diamond in the world”, the Doctor replied. He and Josie moved forward to get a closer look, Robert and Mary joining them.

“It was given to me as the spoils of war”, Victoria explained “Perhaps its legend is now coming true. It is said that whoever owns it must surely die”.

“Well, that's true of anything if you own it long enough”, the Doctor stated “Can I…?” he held his hand out for the diamond and Victoria handed it over. “That is so beautiful”, the Time Lord said as he examined it.

“I read somewhere that it was worth the entire wages of the planet for a whole week”, Josie said “is that true?”

“Yep”, the Doctor confirmed, popping the p.

“Where is the wolf?” Robert asked walking away a little, ears straining for any small noise to indicate where the wolf was “I don't trust this silence”.

“Why do you travel with it?” the Doctor questioned, nodding to the  diamond in his hands.

“My annual pilgrimage. I'm taking it to Helier and Carew, the Royal Jewellers at Hazelhead. The stone needs recutting”, Victoria told him.

“It looks perfect to me”, Mary remarked eyeing the stone.

“My late husband never thought so”, Victoria said.

“That’s right, he didn’t”, Josie agreed “Prince Albert kept on having the Koh-I-Noor cut down. From what I’ve read, it used to be far larger than it is now”.

“He always said the shine was not quite right”, Victoria said “But he died with it still unfinished”, she added, her voice taking on a somber note.

“Unfinished…” the Doctor’s eyes widened as he came to a realisation “…Oh, yes!” he tossed the diamond at Victoria, who barely was able to catch it “There's a lot of unfinished business in this house. His father's research, and your husband, Ma'am, he came here and he sought the perfect diamond, hold on, hold on”, he ruffled his hair violently in his eagerness to work it out “All these separate things, they're not separate at all, they're connected! Oh, my head, my head. What if this house, it's a trap for you. Is that right, Ma'am?”

“Obviously”, Victoria said.

“At least, that's what the wolf intended. But, what if there's a trap inside the trap?” the Doctor asked.

“Explain yourself, Doctor”, the Queen demanded.

“What if his father and your husband weren't just telling each other stories”, the Doctor said “They dared to imagine all this was true, and they planned against it, laying the real trap not for you…but for the wolf”.

“You mean there’s a place in this house where we can trap the wolf?” Josie asked hopeful that was the case.

The Doctor opened his mouth to answer her when a fine sprinkling falls from the ceiling making them all look up. The werewolf was above them walking over the domed skylight. “Well…we now know where the wolf is”, Mary stated as it looked down at them and growled.

“Everyone out!” the Doctor shouted as the glass began to crack. All of them made a break for the door where the Time Lord and Robert quickly destroyed the barricade that they’d erected in order to keep the creature out.

The second everyone had left the room, the Doctor quickly slammed the door on the werewolf. He, Josie, Mary, Robert and Victoria sprinted down the corridor and around the corner, the werewolf pelting after them on all fours. But just as it was mere inches away, liquid was thrown over it causing the creature to howl with pain and quickly retreat.

“Good shot”, the Doctor remarked with a grin.

“It was mistletoe”, Flora stated.

“Isobel!” Robert cried, seeing his wife. He hurried over to her and embraced the woman, giving her a kiss as well. “Now, get back downstairs”, he lightly ordered.

“Keep yourself safe”, Isobel said wanting nothing more than to stay by her husband’s side.

“I will”, Robert kissed her again “Now go”.

Isobel nodded “Girls, come with me”, she said moving past her husband, Mary, the Doctor, Josie, Mary and the Queen “Down the back stairs, back to the kitchens. Quickly!” 

Robert watches his wife leave, wondering if he’ll ever see her again. “Come on! We gotta get to the Observatory”, the Doctor said breaking through his thoughts.

“Right. it's this way”, Robert said, pointing in the direction that his wife had disappeared down. He led them up a large staircase to the upper level where the Observatory was. 

When they all reach the room, the Doctor was in the lead. “There’s no mistletoe in this door”, Josie stated noting the lack of the carving that was present on the library doors “The werewolf can get inside”.

“That’s exactly what we want him to do”, the Doctor said “but not yet. I’ll need a bit of time”.

“Is it possible to barricade it temporarily?” Mary asked before she started to look for a way to do it.

“Just do your work and I'll defend it”, Robert said stepping outside the room.

“Maybe we could bind them shut with rope or something”, Mary mused aloud, seeming not to hear him.

“I said I'd find you time”, Robert repeated. The Doctor looked at him for a second realising that he was going to sacrifice himself. Mary, the Queen and Josie stared at him aghast, all of them coming to the same realisation as well. 

“Good man”, the Doctor said and Robert closed the door behind him. The Time Lord ran over to the Queen. “Your Majesty, the diamond”, he said holding his hand out for it.

“For what purpose?” Victoria asked reluctant to give it back over to him.

“The purpose it was designed for”, the Doctor replied. Victoria looked at him for a moment before she handed it to him. The Time Lord rushed over to the telescope “Josie, Mary, give me a hand”, he said. The two females joined him and together they started turning the wheel.

“You think this is the right time to stargaze?” Josie asked, straining against the wheel.

“Yes it is”, the Doctor answered.

The blackette’s head snapped toward the door when her ears picked up the screams of Robert being torn apart on the other side of the door. Victoria clutched a cross in her trembling hands as the wolf started battering on the door.

“I thought you said this didn’t work!” Mary groaned against the weight of the wheel.

“It doesn't work as a telescope because that's not what it is. It's a light chamber. It magnifies the light rays like a weapon. We've just got to power it up”, the Doctor explained.

“But how do we power it up?” Josie questioned “theres no electr-“ she broke off when she realised it wasn’t powered by electricity but by something else “Moonlight!”

Mary frowned “hold on, its powered by moonlight? But the wolf is made by moonlight!”

“We’re 70% water but we can still drown”, Josie pointed out, her arms shaking from the effort of moving the wheel. The light chamber is finally aligned with the moon and the trio step away as the moonlight streams down the chamber, bouncing off the prisms. Just as the wolf breaks through the door, the light spews out of the end of the chamber onto the floor, just short of the werewolf.

The Doctor dove across the floor and throws the Koh-I-Noor into the beam of light. It bounces off the diamond’s surface, catching the werewolf . They all watch as the creature is lifted up into the air and before their eyes, the wolf slowly turns back into the young man.

“Make it brighter. Let me go”, he pleaded. The Doctor flicked a switch on the light chamber and the young man flicked back into wolf form. He howled once before he vanished. Something wet ran down Josie’s cheek and when she touched a finger to it, she realised that it was a tear. She blinked, a second tear rolling down her face at the loss of all those who’d been killed by the wolf and for the young man who’d been infected by it.

Victoria glanced down at a small scratch her wrist. “Your Majesty? Did it bite you?” the Doctor asked going over to her.

“No, it's…it's a cut, that's all”, the Queen assured him.

“If that thing bit you…?” the Doctor started.

“It was a splinter of wood when the door came apart. It's nothing”, Victoria said.

“Let me see”, the Time Lord insisted.

“It is nothing!” Victoria snapped tugging her sleeve over the cut.

~Drawing room~

Josie and the Doctor were on their knees before the Queen who was now holding a sword. “By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee: Sir Doctor of TARDIS”, she said tapping the blade of the weapon on his shoulders. The monarch did the same with Josie, giving her the title of Dame. Mary grinned. _Those two definitely deserved it_.

“Thank you, Your Majesty”, the blackette said as the pair stood up. _Beth will never believe this_ she thought.

“Your Majesty, you said last night about receiving no message from the great beyond. I think your husband cut that diamond to save your life. He's protecting you even now, Ma'am, from beyond the grave”, the Doctor told the Queen.

“Indeed”, Victoria said  “Then you may think on this also. That I am not amused”. Josie blinked in surprise. She said the phrase! The young woman hadn’t expected that. “Not remotely amused. And henceforth I banish you”

“I'm sorry?” the Doctor said, taken aback by this turn of events.

“I have rewarded you, Sir Doctor, and now you are exiled from this empire, never to return”, Victoria said angrily “I don't know what you are, the two of you, or where you're from, but I know that you consort with stars and magic and think it fun. But your world is steeped in terror and blasphemy and death, and I will not allow it. You will leave these shores and you will reflect, I hope, on how you came to stray so far from all that is good, and how much longer you may survive this terrible life” she turned to Josie “As for you Dame Josie, you are always welcome in these lands. But I highly suggest you choose your friends more carefully in the future lest you be corrupted by bad influences”. The monarch shot a disapproving look at the Time Lord before she walked off.

Mary walked over to them. “So where are you two gonna head off to next?” she asked.

“Not sure, yet”, the Doctor replied “any ideas for our next destination Josie?”

The blackette shrugged “I don’t know where to visit next but I do know that I need a hot shower and some sleep”, she said.

“Well, wherever you end up. I hope you have a better time than you did here”, Mary said “and who knows? Maybe we’ll run into each other”, she added giving Josie a wink.

“Why she wink at you?” the Doctor asked, a little bit confused by it.

“I dunno. Maybe she just felt like winking at me”, Josie replied. She did feel a little bad for not telling the Doctor that Mary wasn’t who she claimed to be, that she was a time traveller like them. Call her selfish but she kinda wanted to keep it to herself for a little bit. She'd tell him in a day or two.

~Highlands~

In order to get back to  the TARDIS, the pair had to persuade a nice man named Dougal to give them a lift in his cart. Once they were near to the blue box, the Doctor and Josie hopped off and thanked the Scottish man. 

"You know, Queen Victoria did actually suffer a mutation of the blood", the Doctor remarked as they walked "Its in the historical record. She was haemophiliac. They used to call it the Royal Disease. But it's always been a mystery because she didn't inherit it. Her mum didn't have it, her dad didn't have it. It came from nowhere".

"You think she got it from that little scratch the wolf gave her?" Josie asked.

"Possibly. After all haemophilia could be a Victorian euphemism for werewolf", the Doctor said.

"So the wolf got it's way after all. It wanted to infect the Queen and it did", Josie said "she's a werewolf now".

"Not necessarily. A single wolf cell could take a hundred years to mature. Might be ready by... oh...early 21st century?" The Doctor guessed.

"That would explain why the Royal Family is so private. And it would be very easy to schedule things around the full moon", Josie said.

"Exactly", the Doctor said.


	8. Education in fangirling part 1

 

 _Something is seriously wrong with this picture_ Josie thought, not for the first time, as she discretely watched the students while she put books back on their respective shelves. They looked far too focused on their books, the subjects of which she would’ve deemed a little advanced for them. Josie slid the last book into its rightful place before heading back to her desk.

She took out her journal, opened it up to the most recent page and jotted down whats been happening. The entry was short and sweet, considering that it was pretty much identical to one the day before. And that made her little disappointed because she really wanted to put more but she supposed that she had to remain patient and eventually the mystery of Deffry Vale will be revealed.

"I have a question", a Scottish voice said.

"Shoot", Josie said not looking up from her journal. She blinked as a book was literally shoved under her nose.

"Where's Wally?" The Scottish voice asked "I can't find him anywhere in this book".

"That's because it's not…" Josie trailed off when she looked up to see John standing there "...a Where's Wally book".

The Doctor pulled the book back, disappointed "well there's a few years of my life I won't be getting back", he muttered. 

"Ok", Josie said slowly, still rather surprised to see him “what brings you here?” she asked.

“I came to see you”, the Doctor answered “how’s your head?”

“Much better, thank you”, Josie replied “can I ask you something?” she quired in a low voice.

“Of course”, the Doctor said.

“How did you get here? I mean this is a long, long way from New Earth. Not just distance wise but also in time as well”, Josie said.

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you”, the Doctor said and the blackette internally groaned. She should’ve seen that coming.

“Is this another ‘tell you at a later date’?” Josie questioned and the Doctor nodded.

 “I’m bored”, the Time Lord suddenly stated “and its almost lunch. Want to grab some coffee and chips?”

“As tempting as that sounds, I’m afraid I’m gonna have to say no”, Josie replied, giving him an apologetic look “I’m having lunch with the Doctor”.

The Doctor waved off her apology. He _knew_ that she had lunch with sandshoes in the canteen but it didn’t hurt to offer. Call him selfish but he wanted to spend more time with this version of his Earth Girl. Even though he knew it was a pretty big risk having two sets of himself in one place, just like at the hospital. But quite frankly he didn’t really care about the consequences of meeting himself. 

“That’s alright”, he said “just don’t eat the chips here”, he added in a warning tone.

“Why?” Josie asked.

“Those particular chips are not good for you, trust me”, the Doctor replied.

“Ok, I’ll take your word for it”, the blackette said. The bell then rung, spurring all the students in the library to gather their stuff and head for lunch. “I guess that’s my cue too”, Josie said picking up her journal, tucking it into her bag “I’ll see you around. Don’t get into trouble”.

“I make no promises”, The Doctor said. She started toward the door when she stopped and turned back.

“That offer of coffee and chips still on?” Josie asked.

“For you? Always”, the Doctor replied.

“Tomorrow. You and me, coffee and chips”, Josie said.

“Sounds good to me”, the Doctor agreed.

“Alright, see you tomorrow”, Josie said.

“See you tomorrow, little  dreamer”, the Doctor said. The blackette gave him a smile before she finally left the library.

~Canteen~

Josie picked up a tray and an empty plate before joining the line of students getting their school dinners. “Thanks”, she said to Beth who slopped mash onto her plate, looking thoroughly annoyed. She didn’t blame her, after all it was the Doctor’s suggestion for her to go undercover as a dinner lady. Not exactly the best position in the school.

She carried on down the line, gaining more food to her plate. She then turned to face the tables, eyes flitting from one to the other until she spotted the Doctor. Josie walked over to his table and sat down. “How was physics?” she asked digging into her mash potato.

“Wasn’t bad”, the Doctor replied “though there was one boy who seems to have knowledge way beyond planet Earth”.

“Every kid that’s taken a book out, the subjects were more advanced than they should’ve been studying at their level”, Josie told her.

“And this place…its very well behaved”, The Doctor added looking around at the students eating nicely.

“Just like the library”, Josie murmured.

“I thought there'd be happy slapping hoodies”, the Time Lord remarked “Happy slapping hoodies with ASBOs. Happy slapping hoodies with ASBOs and ringtones”, he stared at her impressively, the blackette pressing her lips together to stop herself from laughing “Yeah? Yeah? Oh, yeah! Don't tell me I don't fit in”.

Josie let a out a giggle, unable to stop herself. The Doctor grinned at her before he reached for a chip. “No!” Josie exclaimed smacking the chip out of his hand “you don’t want to eat that, trust me”. The Doctor didn’t question it as he could see how serious she was about him not eating the chip. “So um…what do you think is going on here?” Josie asked, quickly changing the subject.

“No idea”, the Doctor replied “but I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough”.

A few hours later, they were in the staff room listening to Mr Parsons talk. “Yesterday, I had a twelve year old girl give me the exact height of the Walls of Troy… in cubits”, the man told them.

“And, it's ever since the new headmaster arrived?” the Doctor asked.

“Finch arrived three months ago. Next day, half the staff got flu. Finch replaced them with that lot”, Mr Parsons nods over to where a group of smart looking teachers were standing. The Doctor looked over his shoulder at them. Josie took the opportunity to steal his biscuit while he was distracted.

“Oi!” The Time Lord exclaimed. Josie just gave him a cheeky grin before eating his biscuit. The Doctor shook his head at her. He wasn’t cross, not really.

“And the teacher you replaced…” Mr Parsons continued gaining their attention again “it was just plain weird”.

“How so?” Josie questioned.

“Well, she won the lottery”, Mr Parsons answered “but she never even played! Said the ticket  was posted through her door at midnight”.

“Lucky her”, Josie remarked. They didn’t have do to anything for the librarian that she replaced as the woman was going on maternity leave. Mr Finch then enters the Staff Room followed by a brown haired woman.

“Excuse me, colleagues. A moment of your time…” The Doctor and Josie turned to see Sarah Jane standing beside the headmaster “May I introduce Miss Sarah Jane Smith. Miss Smith is a journalist, who’s writing a profile about me for the Sunday Times”. Josie stared at her awestruck. She couldn’t believe that she was in the same room as her favourite companion! “I thought it might be useful for her to get ‘a view from the trenches’, so to speak. Don’t spare my blushes” and with that he left.

“Hello!” Sarah Jane greeted as she came over to the Doctor and Josie.

“Oh, I should think so!” The Doctor said happily.

“And, you two are…?” Sarah Jane asked.

“I’m Josie Turner and this is John Smith”, Josie said, introducing them.

“John Smith”, Sarah Jane repeated “I used to have a friend who sometimes went by that name”.

“Well, it's a very common name”, the Doctor told her.

“Bet your friend was a rather uncommon man”, Josie remarked.

“Very uncommon”, Sarah Jane agreed. She sighed, reminiscing. “Um…so, um, have you worked here long?” she asked the pair.

“No. It's only our second day”, the Doctor answered.

“Oh, you're new, then? So, what do you think of the school? I mean, this new curriculum? So many children getting ill. Doesn't that strike you as odd?” Sarah Jane questioned.

“You don't sound like someone just doing a profile”, The Doctor commented.

“Well, no harm in a little investigation while I'm here”, Sarah Jane said.

“Always good to do a little extra digging. Never know what you might find”, Josie said.

Sarah Jane nodded “exactly!” she said. She glanced at the other teachers “Well, I better get to questioning, got a lot of people to talk to”.

“Good luck with your investigation”, Josie said “and whatever you do, don’t eat the chips”.

“Thank you and I won’t”, Sarah Jane promised. The pair watched her walk away. Josie clutched the Doctor’s arm, unable to keep her exactment in any longer.

“That was Sarah Jane Smith”, she stated, giddily.

“Yes, it is”, the Doctor confirmed.

“I mean…I just met my favourite companion of yours in person! _The_ Sarah Jane!” Josie continued bouncing on the spot, still holding onto his arm. The Doctor grinned at how ecstatic she seemed in meeting a former companion of his face to face.


	9. Education in fangirling part 2

A fire door opened in the now darkened school and the Doctor stepped out, followed by Josie, Beth and Mickey. The latter of which of was only there due to insistence and the fact that he’d discovered the weirdness going on with the school. “All right, ‘team’” the Doctor made a face “Oh, I hate people who say ‘team’. Um…’gang’. Um…’comrades’”.

“How about we forget the group name?” Josie suggested “I’m guessing you want one of us to get a sample of the oil that made one of the kitchen ladies do a Fawkes. Another to check out the maths class since that most of new teachers are maths teachers. And someone else…probably you” she gave the Doctor a pointed look “to check out Finch’s office”.  

“Uh…yeah that’s what I want you guys to do”, the Doctor agreed “Mickey go check out the Maths department and Beth head to the kitchen and get a sample of that oil”.

“And I’ll go with Beth”, Josie said.

“Oh, ok”, the Doctor said a tiny bit disappointed as he would’ve rather she’d gone with him “just be careful”.

“I will”, Josie promised. She gave the Time Lord a quick kiss on the cheek before turning to Mickey. “The Maths classrooms is down the hall, turn left, through the fire doors, on the right”, she explained.

“Thanks”, Mickey said.

“Meet back here in 10 minutes”, the Doctor said and Josie nodded. She and Beth headed off toward the kitchens.

“So had any visits from that Scottish guy?” the purple haired woman asked as they walked.

“Actually I have”, Josie replied “he showed up and showed me this book and questioned why he couldn’t find Wally in it”.

“Did you tell him to look harder?” Beth questioned.

“Well, its wasn’t exactly a Where’s Wally Book”, Josie said “and we’re going to have coffee and chips tomorrow”.  

“Really? That’s something you’d do with a friend. Is he becoming a friend?” Beth queried.

“Considering he’s been helping me quite a bit, not to mention saving my life… there’s no way he couldn’t do that and not become my friend”, Josie explained. They continued onto the kitchen where the pair carefully removed the lid to one of the containers. Beth picked up a small glass jar while Josie spooned a little of the oil into it.

As they put the lid back on the barrel, a shadow swooped overhead followed by a screech making the two females look up. “I think we need to go”, Beth stated.

“Yeah, good idea”, Josie agreed. She pocketed the jar of oil and then hastily made her exit with her best friend. They’d quite literally started making their way back to where they were supposed to meet the Doctor when they heard a scream. Beth and Josie exchanged looks before they took off down the corridor.

The pair rounded the corner, almost colliding with the Doctor and Sarah Jane. “Josie! Are you ok?” the Doctor asked, looking her over worriedly. The second he heard the scream; his thoughts automatically went to his girl.

“I’m fine”, Josie assured him “neither of us screamed”.

“Who’s this?” Beth asked.

“Sarah Jane Smith”, Josie answered.

“ _The_ Sarah Jane Smith?” Beth questioned.

“The one and only”, the blackette confirmed. Beth grinned at the woman, slightly giddy about meeting one of the Doctor’s former companions.

“Its nice to finally meet you”, Beth said “Josie has told me quite a bit about your adventures with him” She nodded to the Doctor “you’re her favourite companion”.

Sarah Jane felt rather pleased by that statement “Thank you”, she said “have you two been travelling with him long?”

Josie went to answer when they all heard another scream. “That’s Mickey. Come on!” the blackette said and took off to the Maths class room.

When they arrived, they found Mickey surrounded by packages of something. “Sorry! Sorry, it was only me!” he said rather apologetic “You told me to investigate, so I-I started looking through some of these cupboards and all of these fell on me”.

The Doctor bent down to and picked up a packet to examine it. Josie screwed her face up with disgust when she saw it was “please tell me that’s not what it looks like”, she said.

“I’m afraid it is”, Beth said reluctantly, tentatively prodding one of the packets “Vacuum packed rats”.

“And you decided to scream”, the Doctor said to Mickey.

“It took me by surprise!” Mickey argued.

“Like a little girl?” the Time Lord mocked. Josie lightly whacked him across the back of the head.

“You’re being rude spaceman”, she scolded.

“That’s because I’m not ginger, Earth Girl”, The Doctor playfully countered.

“I think you’d still be rude even if you did become ginger”, Josie lightly shot back.

“Are they always like that?” Sarah Jane quietly asked Beth.

“Pretty much”, Beth admitted. The older woman smiled at the pair. It was nice that the Time Lord had a good relationship with his companion. Well, actually Josie seemed to be more than just a companion which she supposed was also really good. “So what’s up with the rats?” Beth asked the Doctor.

“No idea. Everything started when Mr Finch arrived”, the Time Lord replied “We should go and check his office”.  He chucked the rat he is holding back at Mickey, who quickly dropped it.

“How did you two meet?” Sarah Jane asked Josie as they walked.

“He turned up at my house”, Josie answered “he told me that he needed my help and I’ve been travelling with him ever since”.

“And he’s told you all about me?” Sarah Jane questioned.

“Sort of. I have these dreams about the Doctor and his adventures”, Josie confessed “but I was being truthful when I said that you were my favourite companion of his”.

“Really?” Sarah Jane asked, hoping she wasn’t just saying that.

“Really”, Josie insisted “so what’s your favourite adventure with him?” she asked, linking her arm through the older woman.

“The missus and the ex”, Mickey remarked eyeing the two chatting females walking ahead of himself, the Doctor and Beth “at least they’re getting along”. The Time Lord was also glad that the pair were getting along too.

Eventually the group reached the Headmaster’s Office where the Doctor used his sonic to unlock the door. “Maybe those rats were food”, he surmised in a hushed voice.

“Food for what?” Josie questioned, matching his tone “giant bats?”

The Doctor pushed open the door to reveal none other than several giant bats hanging upside down from the ceiling. “No way!” Mickey said, loudly than he should’ve done before fleeing. The others followed him, much more quietly though.

\------------------

“Ok, I was joking about the giant bats”, Josie said at the same time as Mickey proclaimed

“I am not going back in there. No way!”

“When Finch arrived, he brought with him seven new teachers, four dinner ladies and a nurse”, the Doctor said “Thirteen. Thirteen big bat people. Come on”.

“You wanna go back in?!” Beth exclaimed in surprise as he started back toward the school “did you forget about the giant bats already?”

“I need the TARDIS”, the Doctor told her “I've got to analyse that oil from the kitchen”.

“I might be able to help you there”, Sarah Jane spoke up “I've got something to show you”. She took the Doctor’s hand and led him over to her car where she opened the boot to reveal K9.

“No way. Is that…K9?” Josie asked, staring at him with excitement.  

“Yes is”, the Doctor confirmed “The Mark Three to be precise”.

“Can I…?” Josie gestured with her hand.

“Sure”, Sarah Jane replied. The blackette reached out and gently petted K9 on the head.

“Isn’t K9 supposed to be a little more…chatty?” Beth questioned.

“He is”, Sarah Jane replied, slightly sad “one day he was a lively little dog. The next….nothing”.

“Well, didn't you try and get him repaired?” the Doctor asked.

“Well, it's not like getting parts for a Mini Metro”, Sarah Jane replied “Besides, the technology inside him could rewrite human science. I couldn't show him to anyone”.

The Doctor stroked K9 “Ooh, what's the nasty lady done to you, eh?”  he cooed.

“Can you repair him?” Josie queried.

“Of course I can”, the Doctor said confidently, closing the boot of the car.


End file.
